Suction cleaner



June 15, 943- D. J. BRUNNER, JR

SUCTION CLEANER Filed Oct. 11, 1940 v INVENTOR. BY DAVID J. BRUNNEE. J2.

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ATTORNEY 3.

nted a... 15, 194a UNlT-ED STATE s j P NT-creme] SUCTION CLEANER. DavidJ. Brunner, Jr., Shaker Heights, Ohio Application canning-1940, SerialNo. 360,794

' a claims.- (01. -916) This invention relates to; suction cleaningap-'-' nozzleare disposed, in series, the receiving ends of the ducts.Means are provided for uninterruptedly exhausting the suction chamber,and.

valve or shutter means are utilized for restricting communicationbetween the nozzle and suction chamber at any one time to less-than all'the' ducts, preferably to approximately the capacity of one duct, andwhich valve or shutter means,

- desirably acts to throw the ducts into communication with the chambersuccessively from one I end of the series to the other..

As a. consequence of this combination of a' multiple duct nozzle andvalve or shutter means,

approximately the full power of the suction apparatus is-concentrated onrestricted portions of the carpet or other object being cleanedcorresponding substantially to the cross sectional area of theincludesthe shaft and gear by which it is driven,

and Fig.4 a-Jsimilar view of-the'removable easing of thesuction'chamber. j

The body I of the apparatus, which may con- Y sist of a casting ofsuitable material, such as plastic, aluminum or other metal, encloses afan chamber 2 that is shown as opening'through the top or the body andas having an outlet passage 3.that is enclosed by a rearwardly.extending boss 4.' A dust bag 5, equipped'with a metal fitting 6 at itsreceiving end, is removably attached to the boss 4, through the mediumors'am fitting, byholding means '1.

' 'Surmounting the body I over the fan chamber 2 an electric motor thatis designated generally by the reference numeral I0 and the shaft II ofwhich extends downwardly into the chamber 2 'where it has secured to-itajfan I2. The lower i .tend of the shaft is shown as journaled ina partI3 of the housing which extends across the inlet opening I4 in thebottom wall of the fan chamber;

- said part being extended forwardly in the vicinity receiving end ofthe duct, but the action on the object is practically as though it werecontinuous throughout the area of the mouth of the nozzle because of therapidity with which the ducts are successively thrown into communicationwith the suction chamber.

In the case of a carpet cleaner, for example, this rapidity'of actioninsures against any'part ofthe carpet over which the sweeper is moved toand fro being missed. The intermittent action of the individual ducts,following one another in rapid succession, has the further advantage ofvibrating the. portion of the carpet or other object being cleaned and,if they be of the kinds having nap, of separating the nap so as toloosen any dirt or dust lodged therein and liberate it to the stream ofi-nfiowing air.

Other objects will appear as I proceed to describe the embodiment of theinventio illustrated in the accompanying drawing, amon which obiects aresimplicity of construction, and convenience of removal of the partsnecessary for inspection and cleaning.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a central vertical section from front to rearthrough a suction cleaner incorporating the invention, with certainparts shown in elevationyFig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the apparatuswith parts broken away; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the valve orshutter and oi the shaft I I and provided with ahollow dependingbosswithin which is journaledashaft' I 5 to the upper end of which issecureda gear II. This gear meshes with a pinion I1 on the lower end ofthe motor shaft II. 1

Below the fan chamber, and communicating therewith through the openingI4, is a suction chamber 20 that is enclosed by parts of the body I incooperation with a removable casing 2| that is composed of a circularbottom wall 22 and a semi-cylindrical side wall.23. The casing 2i isremovably attached to the body I by latch members or buttons 24 and 25that are pivoted to the body and are arranged .to engage the respectivelugs 26 and 27 of the casing.

The body I includes a nozzle 30 that flares forwardly and has arelatively wide mouth 3| at the .bottom of its forward end. At its rearend the nozzl opens into the suction chamber 20. The

rearwardly converging side walls 32 of the nozzle terminate atdiametrically opposite sides of the suction chamber and are engaged bythe vertical edges of the semi-cylindrical wall 230i the casing 2i. Therear edge of the bottom wall 33 of the nozzle is shaped to flt the edgeportion of the front half of the circular bottom wall 22 of the casing.The interior of the nozzle is separated into a plurality ofducts 35 bypartitions 36 that I extend from the mouth of the nozzle to itsdischarge end where said ducts communicate with the suction chamber 20through what may. be regarded the front wall thereof.

Operating within the suction chamber is a valve or shutter 40, shown inperspective in Fig. 3, the same consisting of a circular bottom wall 4|and a cylindrical edge wall 42 that is interrupted at diametricallyopposite points by openings 43. The shutter has a central aperturethrough which the shaft l5 extends, the shaft and shutter beingconnected together in such manner as to be held against relativerotation. The lower end of the shaft is reduced and journaled in acentral bearing recess 45 of the bottom wall 22 of the casing 2|.

Wheels 50, attached to the body I in the usual way, support theapparatus at a proper elevation above the floor with the mouth 3| oi.the nozzle spaced the desired distance therefrom.

The apparatus is adapted to be moved to andfro across the floor by meansof a handle 5| that is attached in the customary manner through a yoke52 to the body of the apparatus.

When current is supplied to the electric motor l through suitableconductors (not shown) the fan I2 is driven at a high rate of speed toexhaust the fan casing and the suction chamber 20 therebelow, the fancasing discharging through the passage 3 into the bag 5.

The rotation of the motor shaft is transmitted, at reduced speed,through the pinion l1 and gear IE, to the shaft l5 and shutter 40. Asthe shutter rotates, the openings 43 in the edge wall 42 thereofalternately sweep across the discharge ends of the ducts 35, throwingsaid ducts successively into communication with the suction chamber 20.By this means the partialvacuum prevailing in the suction chamber 20 isconcentrated within one or two of the ducts 35, at no time exceeding incapacity that of one of the ducts in view of the fact that the openings43 correspond in area to that of the receiving ends of the individualducts. As a consequence of this, that portion of the carpet beneath theactive duct or ducts 35 has imposed upon it the full power of theapparatus, and this concentrated suction shifts very rapidly across themouth of the nozzle, causing the breadth of carpet beneath said mouth tovibrate rapidly. In other words, laterally shifting waves or wrinkles ofthe carpet play-across the mouth of the nozzle from one end to the otherin very rapid succession, thereby to manipulate the fiber or separatethe nap of the carpet and loosen the dirt and dust lodged therein andliberate it to the action of the apparatus.

While I have in the foregoing discussion made reference especially tocarpet, it will be understood that the apparatus may be used forcleaning various kinds of fabrics or materials; and further, that theconstruction of the apparatus may be varied without departing from thespirit of the invention so long as the construction falls within theterms of the claims appended hereto.

Brushing or beating means may be arranged within the mouth of the nozzlein much the same way as in prevailing sweepers, but in my case the samewould be divided into sections according to the number of ducts. Thisbeing such an obvious addition, illustration is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a suctionchamber having a cylindrical peripheral wall, a nozzle including aplurality of ducts that open into the suction chamber through said wall,the outlet ends of the ducts being arranged in series about the wall, ashutter including a cylindricalwall of slightly less diameter than theperipheral wall of the chamber,

suction chamber through an end wall of the latter, a fan in saidchamber, means for rotating the fan, and operative connection betweenthe same and said shutter.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a suctionchamber having a cylindrical peripheral wall, a nozzle including aplurality of ducts that open into the suction chamber through said wall,the outlet ends of the ducts being arranged in series about the wall, ashutter including a cylindrical wall of slightly less diameter than theperipheral wall of the chamber, the cylindrical wall of the shutterhaving openings spaced apart considerably further than the outlet endsof the ducts, the shutterbeing rotatably supportedwithin the chamberwith its axis coincident with that of the chamber, a fan chamber whoseinlet communicates with the suction chamber through an end wall of thelatter, a fan in said chamber, a motor for driving the fan, and drivingconnections between the motor and shutter of such character as to rotatethe shutter at a speed considerably less than that of the fan.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a bodyenclosing a fan chamber having an inlet opening in its bottom wall, afan within said chamber for rotation on a vertical axis, a motorsupported by the body with its shaft vertically disposed and extendingdownwardly through the fan chamber, the fan being mounted upon andsecured to said shaft, there being a cylindrical suction chamber belowthe fan chamber and communicating withthe latter through the aforesaidinlet openin8,.a casing removably attached to the under side of the bodyand cooperating with the adjacent portion of the body to enclose thesuction chamber, the body including a nozzle having a plurality of ductsthat open into the suction chamber through a semi-cylindrical wall of.the chamber composed of a part of the body, the aforesaid casingincluding a semi-cylindrical wall that is arranged in opposed relationto the former semi-cylindrical wall and including also an end wall inopposed relation to the previously mentioned end wall of the fanchamber, a shutter fitting within the suction chamber and comprising acircular end wall arranged adjacent the end wall of the casing and acylindrical peripheral wall of slightly less diameter than the suctionchamber, said peripheral wall having diametrically opposed openings, ashaft supported axially'of the suction chamber in parallel relation tobut offset to one side of the motor shaft, and driving connectionsbetween the motor shaft and the second mentioned shaft in the region ofthe end wall of the fan chamber.

DAVID J. BRUNNER, JR.

